View source for Aradia

{{Short description|Character in the Gospel of the Witches}}
{{about||the ''[[Homestuck]]'' character|Aradia Megido}}
'''Aradia''' is one of the principal figures in the American folklorist [[Charles Godfrey Leland]]'s 1899 work ''[[Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches]]'', which he believed to be a genuine religious text used by a group of [[paganism|pagan]] [[witchcraft|witches]] in [[Tuscany]], a claim that has subsequently been disputed by other folklorists and historians.<ref>[[#Hut99|Hutton 1999]]. p. 148.</ref> In Leland's ''Gospel'', Aradia is portrayed as a [[messiah]] who was sent to Earth in order to teach the oppressed peasants how to perform witchcraft to use against the [[Roman Catholic Church]] and the upper classes.

The folklorist [[Sabina Magliocco]] has theorised that prior to being used in Leland's ''Gospel'', Aradia was originally a supernatural figure in [[Italian folklore]], who was later merged with other folkloric figures such as ''sa Rejusta'' of [[Sardinia]].<ref>Magliocco, Sabina (2009). 'Aradia in Sardinia: The Archaeology of a Folk Character' in ''Ten Years of Triumph of the Moon''. Hidden Publishing. Page 40 to 60.</ref>

Since the publication of Leland's ''Gospel'', Aradia has become "arguably one of the central figures of the modern pagan witchcraft revival" and as such has featured in various forms of [[Modern Paganism|Neopaganism]], including [[Wicca]] and [[Stregheria]], as an actual deity.<ref>Magliocco, Sabina (2009). 'Aradia in Sardinia: The Archaeology of a Folk Character' in ''Ten Years of Triumph of the Moon''. Hidden Publishing. Page 42.</ref>  
[[Raven Grimassi]], founder of the Wiccan-inspired tradition of Stregheria, claims that Aradia was a historical figure named ''Aradia di Toscana'', who led a group of "Diana-worshipping witches" in 14th-century Tuscany.<ref>[[#Gri96|Grimassi 1996]].</ref>

==Folklore==
The Italian form of the name ''[[Herodias]]'' is ''Erodiade''. It appears that Herodias, the wife of [[Herod Antipas]], in [[Christianity]] of the [[Early Middle Ages]], came to be seen as a spirit condemned to wander the sky forever due to her part in the death of [[John the Baptist]], permitted only to rest in treetops between midnight and dawn.

By the [[High Middle Ages]], this figure seems to have become attached to the train of nymphs of [[Diana (mythology)|Diana]], now also seen as a host of spirits flying through the night across the Italian countryside. Other names attached to the night flight of Herodias included ''Minerva'' and ''Noctiluca''.<ref>Rosemary Ellen Guiley, The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft, 1989</ref> The [[Canon Episcopi|canon ''Episcopi'']] is a passage from the work ''De ecclesiasticis disciplinis'' by [[Regino of Prüm]] (written {{Circa|906}}). It became notable as a paragraph of [[canon law]] dealing with witchcraft by the 12th century. Regino reports that there were groups of  women who believed that they could go on night journeys where they would fly across the sky to meet Diana and her train. The name of Herodias is not present in the text as attributed to Regino, but in the version by [[Burchard of Worms]], written c. 1012, the reference to Diana (''cum Diana paganorum dea'') was augmented by "or with Herodias" (''vel cum Herodiade'').<ref>Sabina Magliocco (2002). 'Who Was Aradia? The History and Development of a Legend' in ''The Pomegranate: The Journal of Pagan Studies'', Issue 18.</ref> Magliocco (2002) suggests that the legends surrounding this figure, known as ''Aradia'', ''Arada'' or ''Araja'', spread throughout various areas of Italy, and she traced records that showed that two beings known as ''s'Araja dimoniu'' (Araja the demon) and ''s'Araja justa'' (Araja the just) were found in [[Sardinia]]. Magliocco believed that the latter of these two figures, ''s'Araja justa'', was the antecedent of a supernatural witch-like figure known as ''sa Rejusta'' in Sardinian folklore.<ref>Magliocco, Sabina (2009). 'Aradia in Sardinia: The Archaeology of a Folk Character' in ''Ten Years of Triumph of the Moon''. Hidden Publishing. Page 54-55.</ref> [[Judika Illes]], in her ''Encyclopedia of Spirits'', noted: "Although venerated elsewhere in Europe, Herodias was especially beloved in Italy. She and Diana are the goddesses most frequently mentioned in witch-trial transcripts and were apparently worshipped together".<ref>Iles, Judika. ''Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses'' (2009). {{ISBN|978-0-06-135024-5}}</ref>

The Romanian historian of religion [[Mircea Eliade]] also noted that ''Arada'', along with ''Irodiada'', was a name used for a Romanian folkloric Queen of [[Zână|the Fairies]] (''Doamna Zînelor''), who he believed was a "metamorphosis of Diana". She was viewed as the patroness of a secretive group of dancers known as the [[calusari]] who operated up until at least the 19th century.<ref>[[Mircea Eliade|Eliade, Mircea]] (February 1975). "Some Observations on European Witchcraft" in ''History of Religions'' Volume 14, Number 3. Page 160-161.</ref>

===Leland's Aradia===
{{main|Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches|Witch-cult hypothesis}}
In 1899, the American folklorist [[Charles Godfrey Leland]] published ''[[Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches]]'', a book which he claimed was the religious text belonging to a group of Tuscan witches who venerated Diana as the Queen of the Witches. He also claimed that he had been given the book by a Tuscan woman named Maddalena,<ref>{{cite web |title=Visiting a Witch: The Florence Home of Maddalena |url=https://thethinkersgarden.com/visiting-a-witch-the-florence-home-of-maddalena/ |website=The Thinker's Garden |access-date=29 June 2025}}</ref> although historians such as [[Ronald Hutton]] have disputed the truth of these such claims.

''Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches'' begins with the tale of Aradia's birth to Diana and [[Lucifer]], who is described as "the god of the Sun and of the Moon, the god of Light (Splendour), who was so proud of his beauty, and who for his pride was driven from Paradise". Diana instructs Aradia to "go to earth below / To be a teacher unto women and men / Who fain would study witchcraft." When Aradia descends, she becomes the first of all [[witch]]es, and promises her students that "ye shall all be freed from slavery, / And so ye shall be free in everything."<ref>{{cite book | author=Leland, Charles Godfrey | title=Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches | url=https://archive.org/details/aradiaorgospelw00lelagoog | publisher =David Nutt | year=1899 | isbn=1-56414-679-0 }} Chapter I</ref>

Aradia is described as having continuing power to affect the world after she returns to the sphere of Diana. For example, in "A Spell to Win Love", the "Invocation to Diana" asks Diana to send her daughter Aradia to perform the magic.<ref>Leland, [[wikisource:Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches Chapter II|Chapter II]]</ref> Leland's ''Aradia'' has a chapter containing folklore about the night assembly or banquet, titled "The Sabbat: Tregunda or Witch Meeting", which involves Diana.<ref>Leland, Chapter VII</ref> Leland comments in the Appendix, "I also believe that in this Gospel of the Witches we have a trustworthy outline at least of the doctrine and rites observed at these meetings [the witches' Sabbat]. They adored forbidden deities and practised forbidden deeds, inspired as much by rebellion against Society as by their own passions."<ref name="Appendix">Leland, Appendix</ref>

Leland speculates that this folklore ultimately has roots in ancient Etruscan mythology.

Leland also equates Aradia with Herodias, explaining his speculation that Herodias was actually Lilith: "This was not ... derived from the Herodias of the [[New Testament]], but from an earlier replica of [[Lilith]], bearing the same name ... So far back as the sixth century the worship of Herodias and Diana by witches was condemned by a Church Council at Ancyra."<ref>Leland is referring to the Canon Episcopi.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}</ref> [[Pipernus]] and other writers have noted the evident identification of Herodias with Lilith.<ref name="Appendix" /> Historian [[Ronald Hutton]] suggests in ''Triumph of the Moon'' that this identification with Herodias was inspired by the work of [[Jules Michelet]] in ''[[Satanism and Witchcraft]]''.<ref>{{cite book | first=Ronald | last=Hutton | author-link=Ronald Hutton  | title=Triumph of the Moon | publisher =Oxford University Press | year=2000 | isbn=0-500-27242-5}}</ref> Anthropologist and field folklorist [[Sabina Magliocco]], on the other hand, is willing to consider a connection between the [[Italian language|Italian]] Erodiade (Herodias), the  Cult of Herodias, the night assembly, and Aradia.<ref>
Magliocco, Sabina (2002). "Who Was Aradia?  The History and Development of a Legend", ''The Pomegranate'', volume 18, p. 5–22.</ref>

==Neopaganism==
Aradia has become an important figure in witchcraft including [[Wicca]] and other forms of Neo-Paganism. Some [[Wicca#Traditions|Wiccan traditions]] use the name ''Aradia'' as one of the names of the [[Triple Goddess (Neopaganism)|Great Goddess]], [[Moon Goddess]], or "Queen of the Witches".<ref>{{cite book | author=Farrar, Janet and Stewart | title=Eight Sabbats for Witches | publisher =Robert Hale | year=1983 | isbn=0-919345-26-3}}</ref>

Portions of Leland's text influenced the [[Gardnerian]] [[Book of Shadows]], especially the [[Charge of the Goddess]].<ref>Valiente, Doreen. ''The Rebirth of Witchcraft'' (1989).</ref> [[Alex Sanders (Wiccan)|Alex Sanders]] invoked Aradia as a moon goddess in the 1960s. [[Janet Farrar|Janet]] and [[Stewart Farrar]] used the name in their ''Eight Sabbats for Witches'' and ''The Witches' Way''.<ref>Farrar, Janet and Stewart. ''Eight Sabbats for Witches'' (1981). {{ISBN|0-919345-26-3}}. ''The Witches Way'' (1984). {{ISBN|978-0-7090-1293-1}}</ref> Aradia was invoked in spellcraft in Z. Budapest's ''The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries''.<ref>Budapest, Z. ''The Holy Book of Women's Mysteris: Complete in One Volume'' (1980, 1989), First Wingbo edition 1989, pp. 23, 27, 44. {{ISBN|978-0-914728-67-2}}.</ref>

Aradia is a central figure in [[Stregheria]], an "ethnic Italian" form of Wicca introduced by Raven Grimassi in the 1980s. Grimassi claims that there was a historical figure called "Aradia di Toscano", whom he portrays as the founder of a revivalist religion of Italian witchcraft in the 14th century. Grimassi claims that Leland's ''Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches'' is a "distorted Christianized version" of the story of Aradia.<ref>{{cite web | title=Stregheria.com FAQ | url=http://stregheria.com/FAQ.html | access-date=October 13, 2005 | archive-date=May 22, 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060522185828/http://www.stregheria.com/FAQ.html | url-status=dead }}</ref>

Neo-Pagan narratives of  Aradia include ''The Book of the Holy Strega'' (1981), by Raven Grimassi; ''The Gospel of Diana'' (1993), by Aidan Kelly; and ''Secret Story of Aradia'', by Myth Woodling (2001).<ref>Woodling, Myth (2001), [http://www.jesterbear.com/Aradia/secret.html ''Secret Story of Aradia''], from www.AradiaGoddess.com</ref>

In 1992, [[Aidan Kelly]], co-founder of the [[New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn]], distributed a document titled ''The Gospel of Diana'' (a reference to ''Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches''{{ref|Baldassare}}). The text contained a list of mother and daughter [[priest]]esses who had taught religious [[witchcraft]] through the centuries. Instead of Leland's goddess Diana and her messianic daughter Aradia, Kelly's text described mortal human beings. The priestesses' names alternated between ''Aradia'' and ''Diana''.{{ref|Kelly}} Magliocco describes the character of Aradia in Kelly's accompanying narrative as "a notably [[sexual desire|erotic]] character; according to her teachings, the [[Human sexual behavior|sexual]] act becomes not only an expression of the divine life force, but an act of resistance against all forms of oppression and the primary focus of [[ritual]]". Magliocco also notes that the text "has not achieved broad diffusion in contemporary Pagan circles".{{ref label|Magliocco|4|a}}

In 2017, author and artist Laura Tempest Zakroff inspired by a tweet from Storm Faerywolf launched the "#WeAreAradia" campaign to encourage witches and magical practitioners to embody Aradia’s spirit of collective empowerment rather than wait for an outside force.The hashtag was positioned as "A call to action to build and use your practices to protect and to empower. Stand up. Speak out. Cast proud." In 2018, Revelore Press published The New Aradia: A Witch’s Handbook to Magical Resistance which brings together essays, sigils, invocations and rituals relating to Aradia, framing witchcraft explicitly as a tool in [[Activism|political activism]]. Contributors situate their magic within [[class conflict]], opposing economic injustice and [[white supremacy]], and advocate for solidarity with laborers, queer communities, and other marginalized groups. The New Aradia positions Aradia not just as a folklore figure but also a symbol of 21st-century magical resistance against oppression.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Zakroff |first=Laura |url=https://revelore.press/product/the-new-aradia-a-witchs-handbook-to-magical-resistance/ |title=The New Aradia: A Witch’s Handbook to Magical Resistance |date=September 26, 2018 |isbn=9781947544161}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Zakroff |first=Laura |date=January 24, 2017 |title=patheos |url=https://www.patheos.com/blogs/tempest/2017/01/we-are-aradia.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250612133124/https://www.patheos.com/blogs/tempest/2017/01/we-are-aradia.html |archive-date=June 12, 2025}}</ref>

==See also==
{{wikisource|Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches}}
*[[Etruscan mythology]]
*[[Triple Goddess (Neopaganism)]]

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|<!-- column start -->
* {{cite book |title= Ways of the Strega: Italian Witchcraft, Its Lore, Magick and Spells |last= Grimassi |first= Raven |year= 1996 |publisher= Llewellyn |isbn= 1-56718-253-4 |ref= Gri96 |url= https://archive.org/details/waysofstregaital00grim }}
* {{cite book |title= The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft |last= Hutton |first= Ronald |year= 1999 |publisher= Oxford University Press |location= New York |isbn= 0-19-820744-1 |ref= Hut99 |url= https://archive.org/details/triumphofmoonhis00hutt }}
* {{cite news|title= Aradia in Sardinia: The Archaeology of a Folk Character |last= Magliocco|first= Sabina |year= 2009 |publisher= Hidden Publishing |isbn=978-0-9555237-5-5
 |ref=Hut99}}
}}<!-- split column end -->
{{refend}}

== External links ==
* [https://sacred-texts.com/pag/aradia/index.htm "Aradia or the Gospel of the Witches"] The complete text of "Aradia" by Charles Leland.
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20041204121443/http://www.stregoneriaitaliana.com/ The Stregoneria Italiana Project]}}, which contains an academic discussion of the history and controversies associated with Leland and Aradia.
* [http://www.stregheria.com/aradia.htm "Aradia"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100405223213/http://www.stregheria.com/aradia.htm |date=2010-04-05 }}, Stregheria.com, an article by Raven Grimassi about the legend of Aradia and its evolution.
* [http://www.Aradiagoddess.com/ Goddess Aradia and Related Subjects], a Web site devoted to Aradia as a Wiccan goddess and as a powerful spirit in Italian folklore.

{{witchcraft}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aradia (Goddess)}}
[[Category:14th century in Italy]]
[[Category:Children of Lucifer]]
[[Category:Diana (mythology)]]
[[Category:Lilith]]
[[Category:Magic goddesses]]
[[Category:Messianism]]
[[Category:New religious movement deities]]
[[Category:Night goddesses]]
[[Category:European people whose existence is disputed]]
[[Category:Religion in Italy]]
[[Category:Witchcraft in folklore and mythology]]
[[Category:Witchcraft in Italy]]
[[Category:Lunar goddesses]]